Saturday, March 27, 2010

Tackling the Issues of Our Youth

I always like to think we have the power to change the world, regardless of how daunting a task it may seem. I feel that nudism and naturism are the answer to a whole lot of our problems in the world. We're living in a time of violence, hatred, disrespect, crime, self-loathing, criticism, depression, the list goes on. Now I'll be the first to acknowledge that nudism isn't for everyone and there's really no way to reach everyone. If nudity were legal everywhere tomorrow, not everyone would take advantage of it, in fact it would probably be a long time before we even saw much difference on the streets. But I can't help but feel that it would have a positive impact on the world, that it would solve so many problems for us or at least be largely responsible for an overall positive shift in our attitudes.

One issue nudism positively affects is the insecurity and recklessness of our youth. These days they are dealing with a whole host of issues surrounding their self concept. They feel the pressures of their peers and society to fit into the fictitious image of a 'perfect' person. This image is dictated mainly by how you look; your weight, your skin, and your clothes. Youth are forced to feel that being themselves isn't good enough to gain acceptance and thus must change the image they portray to the world in order to accomplish success, acceptance, friends, normality. Unfortunately this is just what we see on the surface, and this change leads to a misguided sense of right and wrong. Poor decisions are made. The desire to become popular ruins self-esteem by teaching that personality means nothing and the superficial image means everything.

Teenagers who have been brought up in a nudist environment often acknowledge that their lifestyle allows them to be free of the facade and think for themselves. Instead of living behind their image, nudists are taught that all bodies are good, and that their own is nothing to be ashamed of. They are taught to have self esteem and to respect themselves and their bodies. Nudist youth don't feel the need to experiment sexually when they are young. They have a healthy and positive image of the human body, and nothing has been hidden, thus there are no secrets to explore. Their healthy self-respect also leads them to think for themselves and avoid drug and alcohol experimentation. The confidence these youth have prepares them to make the right choices during their teen years and often helps them escape what so many other youth succumb to.

There is really so much more on this topic, I just have to stop sometime. I can think of so many issues that nudism helps and I'll continue to share what I've found to support that. One thing I can tell you is that I have every intention of raising my kids in a nudity-friendly environment. I believe this will help them greatly when it comes to their confidence in themselves and their self-image, and I want to give them all the help they can get to tackle this big bad world on their own.

6 comments:

I think I'm wired to be a nudist. I also think that we'd be better off if civilization were a little less clothes-compulsive. Still, I think saying that a nudist kid's "healthy self respect," conditioned by childhood weekends at a nudist club, and relaxed dress code at home, would lead him or her to think for herself and avoid casual sex drugs and alcohol is overstating the case.

I raised my kids that way at least as much as I was able to I was in the military and always away. I took them to nude beaches and the clubs as often as I could and I do think it helped some with their self confidence and self esteem. I think that kids that lived in those camps had really healthy out looks but were also a little lonely as there were not too many kids there unless a family came for the weekend. So there are some issues still. I know one family that eventually moved out of our first naturist resort so their kids could have a more active social life inviting friends over and what not. Until we remove the stigma attached to social nudity this will continue to be an issue. I am trying to impart some of my love of nudism to my grand kids as well my daughter has no problem with that however my son and DIL are another issue. I hope to keep the tradition alive for another generation.

Alan, I think it's unfortunate that the nudist movement isn't represented by a larger youth population. I can understand it would be tough for children who may feel isolated living at a nudist resort. I hope to raise my kids to be comfortable in their skin at home, but I don't think I'll be moving to a nudist resort anytime soon. It really is too bad the stigma is so prevalent and limiting.

Tom, I wish I had the personal experience to back up my comments about conditioning, but what I wrote was based on what my nudist friends have said to me; they were raised as nudists from birth, and have made those observations about themselves and the people they went to school with. Nudism isn't the ultimate solution, but it's an interesting observation and you're right...it would be nice to run the experiment and see what happens. Things to think about I guess.

I have seen some encouraging signs if naturism/nudism has a season this is it. After a long cold winter what could be better than to be nude in nature. It seems to cause news such as the recent topfee march by a group of women, excuse me, womyn in Portland Maine. Then there is the couple gardening in nothing but thongs in Colorado. Everyone is happy to get out an soak up some sum after a long cold winter.

A clever way to encourage nudism with most youth is through entertainment, such as music. If you own a store or some place where the public comes, play songs that say stuff about lack of clothes. Some songs are rap so depending on the place you might want to have several speakers throughout the area & only have it on 1 or 2 speakers.

About Me

I'm an active and outgoing guy who loves to have fun. I have strong opinions and beliefs and I stick by them when my integrity is questioned. I am a friend to everyone until they give me reason not to be. I love action and adventure, and will give almost anything a try at least once!